


50 Shades of Balinda

by BlairBarry



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Abusive Relationship, Balinda, Bartley, Bisexual!Barry Allen, Evil Linda, Extreme AU, F/M, Harrison Wells is not evil, Hartley and Barry are besties, Hartley is Harrison's adopted son, Hartley to the rescue, M/M, No Sexual Content, Nor is Hartley Rathaway, Not really 50 Shades of Grey-like AT ALL, Poor Barry, So much angst, Torture, but there is also so much fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-03-16 22:05:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3504410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlairBarry/pseuds/BlairBarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He thought Linda was his perfect match. He thought that after the catastrophe that was telling Iris how he really felt, everything was going to be alright. He was wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is our first FanFiction. (I say our because this account is shared by two people) We titled it 50 Shades of Balinda, but in reality it is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE that at all. There is no sexual content, just torture. And it isn't consensual either. We aren't Balinda (BarryxLinda) shippers in the slightest.....no hate please.  
> This is extremely AU, where Hartley isn't evil and neither is Harrison. And Hartley is Harrison's adopted son because, we like that idea. It's not our idea that we came up with, but it's not like we're stealing content or anything! So, read on please!

Barry and Linda were sitting on the couch in the living room of Linda's house. She lived alone, and had no neighbors. Barry was surprised that she didn't live in an apartment like he did, but instead had enough money to buy a fairly large two story home a little bit on the outskirts of Central City.

Linda's head rested on Barry's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her, and they both watched silently as the ending credits of The Notebook rolled. It was their two month anniversary, and they had chosen to spend it at Linda's house, just a nice romantic movie night.

"Did you like the movie, Bear?" Linda asked fondly.

"Yeah. It was cute," Barry replied. He actually didn't understand the movie much at all, but he didn't want to ruin the night by telling his girlfriend that he hated her favorite film.

"Guess what?" Linda teased, pecking Barry's cheek lightly.

Barry chuckled "What?" He asked.

"I have a surprise for you!" Barry hummed in a pleasantly amused tone, curious about what exactly Linda's surprise was.

"But you can't peek. So, I have to blindfold you!"

Linda pulled a black silk blindfold out of her pocket, wrapping it around Barry's head; cutting out Barry's sense of sight. She guided him to a standing position, and began to walk Barry somewhere in the house.

"Where are we going?" Barry asked jokingly.

"You shall find out soon enough dear Flash," Linda replied in the same tone.

Barry had told Linda his secret 4 weeks after they'd started dating, after Caitlin and Cisco insisted that it wasn't right that Barry kept running off in the middle of dates because someone needed saving, and with nothing but a lame excuse. They said that he would lose Linda, and Barry didn't want that to happen after their relationship had been going so great. Linda was surprised, but not angry. She actually was super supportive, and a lot more understanding.

Everyone was happy. Joe, Caitlin, Barry, Cisco, Linda, Harrison. Everyone except Hartley. Hartley had been open about not liking his best friend's girlfriend since the very beginning. He didn't fake a smile when she was around, didn't join in on conversations about her (although he did put in short quips about how he thought she was a whore), and outright refused to let her anywhere near the inside of S.T.A.R. Labs. One time, when Barry brought her with him on a visit, Hartley actually locked BARRY out of the lab until he made Linda go away. There was quite a heated argument between the two best friends that day, one which led to Barry giving Hartley the silent treatment for the rest of the week.

Anyways, that didn't matter now. Hartley was just stubborn. Linda led Barry into a room, keeping him blindfolded. Barry heard the door behind him shut, and then about three locks going into place. That was when he started to get worried.

"W-what are you doing?" He stuttered, smiling and trying to keep the rising fear out of this situation, trying to keep it light.

Linda shushed him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and caressing his arms.

Then she whispered, "This is going to be so.....fun!"

That was when it all went to hell.


	2. Chapter 2

Barry screamed in agony as the whip came down on his back for what seemed like the hundredth time. Linda had forced him to his knees, pulling off his shirt and tying his hands in front of him, and started to torture her boyfriend. She didn't go easy, not at all, because she knew he would heal in a matter of hours. He screamed and begged, and she ignored, not even making a sound. She didn't remove the blindfold, didn't warn him, nothing. But he had a sense that she was smiling.

"C'mon Barry, it isn't that bad!"   
Linda insisted, right at the moment she casted the whip upon his back a little harder than before.

He screamed again, falling forwards and was unable to brace himself because of his tied hands. He could hear Linda setting the whip on the ground, and her approaching him slowly. She hoisted him back up on his knees, gently beginning to massage his shoulders.

"You know I love you. Right, Bear?" She asked innocently.

Barry didn't know what to do other than nod, he was too dizzy from the pain. But then she started to move her hands lower on his back, digging the pads of her fingers into the cuts on his skin. The ones caused by the whip she had hit him with.

And that was when he knew. Barry just knew that Linda never really loved him at all.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next three days were a blur for Barry. He went to work, visited Iris on his break, and went back to work. He didn't want to think about what happened on his and Linda's aniversary, and he belatedly ignored her calls and texts inviting him to hang out. He didn't tell anyone about what happened, not even Hartley. Not even Iris. The truth was, he was scared.

He was scared of what Linda would do to him. What she was capable of. He didn't know she could ever be so cruel. And he didn't know what to do about it. So, he ignored it. Bad decision.

The third night after their anniversary, Barry got off work late. Joe had gone home, so had Eddie, even Captain Singh. Barry walked out of the precinct, prepared to run home to his apartment. It was almost 11pm, and the sidewalks and roads were damp from previous rain shower. But instead, a car pulled up in front of his work place. The passenger seat window rolled down, and Barry saw that it was Linda.

"Hey Bear!" She greeted cheerily.

"Um, h-hey!" He stuttered.

Barry really didn't want to see her right now. A million thoughts raced through his head. What if she shot him? Or ran him over with her car? Then, he mentally berated himself. He was the freaking Flash! He could run away before any of that happened. None of that would happen anyways. Right?

"Need a ride?" Linda offered.

"No. I'm...I'll be fine," he barely managed to get the words out.

"Oh come on. Don't be silly! Get in the car!" Linda's tone was light, like she was just being a friend offering a friend a ride, but her eyes told a different story.

Her eyes said Barry didn't have a choice. As much as his brain screamed for him to run, his feet dragged on the ground as he walked over to her car. When he got in, Linda's eyes sparkled, and her smile grew. As she began driving, neither her nor Barry tried to make conversation. Not until Barry noticed that Linda missed the turn that led to his apartment complex.

"You, um....you missed the t-turn," he mumbled.

"I know," she replied lightly.

"What?" Barry asked, alarms sounding in his head.

"We're going to my house," Linda told him, as if it were the most normal thing in all of history. Which it probably would be, if he didn't consider the standards.

Before he could even think about jumping out of the car however, Linda grabbed his hair. And before he could even protest, she slammed his head on the glass window, leaving a blood splatter from his forehead as he was knocked unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

When Barry came to, he couldn't see anything. He was terrified, and had a pounding headache. The cut on his face from when he'd been knocked out had already healed, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel the after effects. There was something leather wrapped around Barry's throat. A leash it seemed. His hands were tied behind his back. Barry felt hands lightly land on his shoulders, and he flinched. His breathing picked up.

"Relax Bear," Linda soothed.

"Everything is going to be fine,"

She softly dragged Barry onto his knees, almost lovingly. But Barry knew it wasn't real. He knew her gentleness wasn't sincere.

"Linda," Barry begged. "Please, please let me go. Please,"

Then suddenly, the leash around Barry's neck tightened painfully. It was strangling him, and he couldn't breathe. He tried to scream, tried to beg her to stop, but he couldn't. All that came out were choking gasps and gagging noises. And it hurt. When it stopped, Barry's head fell onto his chest. He sucked in deep, needed gulps of air. He tried to pull away, but the leash around his neck seemed to be attached to the wall.

"Shhhhhhhh" Linda whispered, pulling Barry's shirt over his head. He tried to protest, but she seemed stronger in the current situation.

"It's alright, Bear. Nothing to worry about,"

Barry whimpered as Linda dragged her fingernails down his bare arms. It wasn't hard enough to break the skin, but it still hurt. Linda's hands left Barry's arms, and he sighed in relief. But then he felt something cold touch his elbow, and that was when the pain started. He instantly knew it was a knife, and she dragged it down to his wrist, cutting deeply. He screamed, and Barry knew blood was running down his skin.

Linda dragged her finger up the gash on Barry's arm, causing him to cry out in pain. She traced the knife straight across his collar bone, not too deeply, but deep enough. Barry howled in pain, and Linda just trailed the knife over the wound again.

She paused to let it heal, then did it again, and again, and again. Barry screamed until his throat was raw.

"Stop! Please, Linda, Stop!" He sobbed.

Barry sobbed even more as Linda ran her hands along his chest, deliberately applying extra pressure on his collar bone. The moment ended, however, when Barry's phone began to ring. Barry felt Linda take it out of his pocket, and she growled as she looked at the caller ID.

"Hartley," she snarled.

Linda lightly kissed Barry on the lips.

"Hold on a minute, baby," she murmured.

"I have some issues to take care of,"

Barry sucked in harsh breaths, every inhale drawn was uneven.

"Barry Allen's phone!" Linda answered brightly.

"What? Who is this?" Barry heard Hartley's voice on the other end.

He tried to scream his name, tried to cry out for help, but Linda seemed to know just exactly what Barry was planning. She pulled on the leash around his neck, gagging him and silencing his cries in the process.

"This is Linda speaking. How can I help you, Hartley?"

"I want to talk to Barry," Hartley demanded.

"He's in the bathroom," Linda lied smoothly. "We're having a night in at my house tonight,"

Barry started to lose consciousness, but Linda let go of the leash just in time. She wasn't worried about him trying to cry for help again, she knew he got the message.

"But....but it's Wednesday!" Hartley protested incredulously.

"Barry has to go to work tomorrow!"

Linda laughed merrily, as if it was all a big joke. But Barry knew it was all an act. And Hartley seemed to know too.

"Where is Barry, Linda?" He said threateningly.

"I told you. He's in the bathroom," Linda's voice didn't waver even a fraction as she lied to Hartley.

"Really?" Hartley asked sarcastically, he didn't buy it for a second.

"Truly," Linda replied. "If you want, I'll tell him to call you later ok?"

"I really hate you," Hartley grumbled.

"Goodbye Hartley," Linda said in a singsong voice, ending the call.

"Your little friend is going to be a problem," Linda whispered teasingly, but Barry knew the seriousness behind it all.

"I'll have to deal with him later,"

"Don't you dare hurt him!" Barry yelled, surprisingly his voice was strong all of a sudden.

Then Linda was strangling Barry again, and all of Barry's sudden bravery was washed away in an instant.

"I think I'm going to leave you here tonight," Linda said.

Barry shook his head rapidly, struggling against his bonds.

"No! Linda, Linda!" He cried out.

"You need some time to cool off," Linda said, ignoring Barry's pleas.

Barry heard her walking away, and heard the switch of lights shutting off. Before she left though, Linda said:  
"Goodnight Bear. I love you," then she promptly slammed the door shut, leaving Barry alone to cry.

No one called Hartley back that night, and Hartley didn't sleep a wink because of it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We apologize for the lack of updates on this story, and hope this long-ish chapter makes up for it! We've already got the next chapter planned out, so it should be coming soon!

No one can accuse Hartley of being a control freak. Or a paranoiac, or a worrywart. Well, they could, but they'd be completely and utterly incorrect. Sort of. Hartley wasn't always like this, he wasn't always that one person that needed to know everything and know where everyone was and all that. But lately, he had been exactly that. Because for Barry, he needed to be all of these things.

For the last week or so, Barry had seemed....off. At least, it seemed so to Hartley. No one else seemed to notice except him, but then again, no one pays attention to Barry as much as he does either. It could be said that Hartley had a tiny, itty-bitty-little crush on Barry. But of course, if anyone said that within a hearing radius of Hartley, he would deny deny deny. And Hartley had exceptional hearing. 

When S.T.A.R Labs blew, Hartley was drastically injured like Barry and his adoptive father, Harrison. While Barry was put into a coma, and Harrison was paralyzed, Hartley suffered severe head trauma, and his hearing was damaged. Sort of. Now, he had extremely good hearing. However, with his new ability, there came extremely intense amounts of pain. He and Cisco were currently working on hearing suppressors to make it easier for Hartley to go out in public, because being anywhere outside S.T.A.R. Labs or his house was practically suicide for his ears.

Barry still didn't know this, for Hartley didn't want to worry him. All Barry knew was that Hartley could hear really well now. And that he got headaches more often. Harrison blamed himself for the injuries Hartley had sustained, and still hasn't gotten over it. 

But anyways, back to Barry's current behavior. He's been.....distant lately. He subtly avoids the touch of anyone and everyone around him: Joe, Caitlin, Cisco, even Iris. Even Hartley. And he hasn't talked at all about Linda in days. In fact, whenever someone brings her up, he immediately changes the subject. Something was wrong. Something was terribly, horribly wrong, and Hartley didn't know what to do about it.

Hartley called 6 more times that night, his panic rising as every five minutes passed WITHOUT Barry calling back like Linda had promised- not like he ever trusted that whore- so he precisely planned out a calling pattern so he didn't seem too desperate. He let one hour pass, then 40 minutes, then another hour in between calls. After that failed, he started the pattern over. And yet, Barry still never answered. He didn't message to say that he was alright, he didn't call back, he did nothing. So Hartley didn't sleep.

It's not like Hartley didn't try to sleep, he really did. But he just....didn't. Couldn't. He tossed and turned, tried laying on his stomach, then his back, then his side, then his stomach again. This all lasted for a good 3 hours before Hartley ultimately gave up, getting up out of bed with a huff and heading downstairs at around 3:30 in the morning.

Hartley walked out of his room almost silently, listening intently for any signs of conscious life. Hearing nothing but the slow and steady heartbeat of his sleeping adoptive father, Hartley walked to the kitchen. He sat at the kitchen table, head falling into his hands as his elbows rested on the wooden surface. Exhaling heavily, Hartley argued internally with himself. 'Should I ask Barry the next time I see him? No you idiot! But it's better than being worried all the time. But is it better than being shot down?'

Hartley's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Harrison's mechanical wheel chair from down the hall, approaching slowly. Hartley couldn't run back to his room unless he wanted to pass by his father, and he couldn't hide somewhere in the kitchen either. He could always say that he was getting a glass of water, but then he would actually have to drink something. And Hartley wasn't sure he could swallow without choking on the lump that he was feeling in his throat. 

Before Hartley could decide on a tactic though, Harrison was already there, in the kitchen. Hartley didn't look up, but he could hear the quiet breathing of his adoptive father, sitting a few feet away. 

"Hartley? What has you up at this hour?" Harrison inquired. 

Hartley looked up slowly, trying not to look as miserable as he felt. 

"Couldn't sleep," Hartley answered with a shrug.

"Any particular reason for that?" Harrison pressed. 

Hartley shrugged, sighing, and let his head fall back into his hands. He heard Harrison roll over to sit across from him, and when he spoke next, his voice was full of worry. 

"Hartley. What's wrong?" He asked. 

"It's just. Barry. He hasn't called me back," Hartley said defeatedly, inwardly cringing at how desperately lame he sounded. 

"Maybe he's busy," Harrison offered. 

"That's what I would initially think, but Linda said he would call me back. I should've known she would be lying!" Hartley growled. 

Hartley never trusted Linda, ever. From the moment he saw her, he hated her. Barry's arm had been draped around her shoulder that night at the bar when everyone went to hang out, and Barry's smile had been bright and loving enough to light up the whole room while Linda's eyes screamed "ulterior motive". Hartley knew no one else saw it, so he didn't mention it. But every time he heard her name, or saw her around, Hartley's stomach twisted with a dark sense of worry and something he couldn't quite decide on yet. 

"Ah, Linda. Barry introduced me one day at Jitters. Nice girl," Harrison hummed.

"Dad! You're supposed to be on my side!" Hartley whined childishly. 

"Why? I have no reason to think negatively of her," Harrison commented with an amused expression.

"Well I do! That should be reason enough," Hartley argued, causing Harrison to chuckle. 

"There's something wrong with Barry. And I know it's her fault," Hartley said. 

"I haven't noticed any odd or unfamiliar behavior from Mr. Allen," Harrison said curiously, rubbing his chin with his hand absentmindedly.

"Well I have. And you of all people should know that I can always tell exactly how people feel: when they are keeping secrets, when they are lying. I can hear it in their heartbeats. And Barry is defiantly keeping secrets about something," Hartley explained. 

Hartley thought back to the previous three days. Barry had been very jumpy, not the excited over-energized jumpy either. He was always moving, keeping a fair but not too noticeable distance away from everyone. His heartbeat had always been abnormally fast after the lightning, but lately it's been even faster. And he literally never brought up Linda in a conversation anymore. It wasn't that Hartley wasn't all for that, but he was worried. 

"Perhaps you're jealous," Harrison blurted, and Hartley's distant gaze snapped to him with such betrayal and anger, that anyone other than Harrison Wells would've shrunken under it. 

"I am NOT jealous! Ever!" He yelled. 

And with that, Hartley stood up and walked (stomped) to his bedroom.  
So, Hartley might've been a little jealous. Who wouldn't be? Why did Linda of all people, the too pretty and too silky-sweet kind of girl, get Barry? Barry, the nerdy, smart, affectionate, tall, handsome, amazing.....okay Hartley was getting too lost in his thoughts. 

His point was, Barry was in trouble. And he was going to help somehow. In any way that he could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Barry missed work. He didn't come to S.T.A.R. Labs either. Hartley knew this because Joe had come in at the end of his shift to ask if anyone knew where Barry was. 

Hartley had no shame when he immediately answered absentmindedly with, "He's with that whore Linda," He didn't even stop what he was working on while answering the question.

Cisco choked on his smoothie, Caitlin's eyes widened, Joe gaped, and Harrison gave his son a stern look to which Hartley completely paid no mind to. He instead looked up, stared at everyone, and shrugged before giving all of his attention to Joe. 

"Why don't you call him?" He inquired. 

"I tried, 6 times. It went to voicemail every time," Joe replied with concern. 

"I called him last night, and Linda picked up. She spit some garbage about how he was staying at her house that night and she answered because he was in the bathroom or something. She said he'd call me back, but he didn't," Hartley said darkly. He then said some very choiced words in French, and Caitlin smacked him upside the head. 

"Hartley here has a few trust issues when it comes to Linda," Caitlin said to Joe. Hartley rolled his eyes. Everyone else knew that, so Hartley's attitude was no surprise to them. 

"Does anyone happen to know Linda's phone number?" Joe asked, and everyone shook their heads. 

"Joe, if any of us are to hear from Barry, we will contact you immediately. Let's all hope that he's just at home passed out on the couch," Harrison said, understanding the worry one can feel for their son. Blood or not, family was family.

"Iris might know her number. They do work together, right?" Cisco offered. 

At that, Hartley got lost in his thoughts. He never actually talked to Iris about Linda, since he hated bringing her up in any conversation. But he always knew that Iris wasn't a very happy camper when it came to Barry's relationship. Maybe she could give him some advice on how to deal with this whole thing. Wasting no more time, Hartley stood up from his chair and ran out of S.T.A.R. Labs, all the while fumbling with his phone. 

"Hello?" Came Iris's voice when she picked up her phone. 

"Hey, Iris! It's Hartley! Meet me at Jitters?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone made a great point that Linda should have a reason for the way she acts. They said that she should have a back story that explains why she thinks that what she does is okay. So, here it is. This chapter is all about Linda's childhood, and how her mind became warped enough to confuse abuse with love. Enjoy!

Balinda Pt.5  
It's not uncommon for children to idolize their parents. Linda always looked up to her father as a child. He was a very successful surgeon, and they lived in a big house because of it. She can vaguely remember when she was 4, every Friday afternoon, after he got off of work, her dad would take her family out for ice cream. They were a small family, just her, her mom, and her dad. But that didn't matter, she loved her family just the way it was. Her family was perfect. Except, of course, when it wasn't. 

Linda didn't understand at first. All she knew was that late at night, while she was trying to sleep, she could hear screaming. It was her mother, about two halls down, screaming her throat raw. And her dad was the cause. It scared Linda, so much that she didn't dare tell anyone at school about it. She just put a pillow over her head, or fell asleep listening to her old-school record player. 

When she was 7, Linda mustered up the courage to ask her mother what was happening. 

"Mommy," she'd asked. "Why do you scream at night? Why does Daddy hurt you?" 

Her mom had sighed, setting down her cup of tea. She turned to Linda, lightly placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders, and looked her straight in the eyes as she said, "Because he loves me. When someone loves someone else, really and truly loves them, they express that love through pain," 

Linda had shaken her head in confusion. "I don't understand," 

Her mom had smiled softly, she never lost patience with Linda. "If you are in love, you have to show that person you love them by hurting them. If they love you back, they'll let you," 

Linda nodded then. "I think I get it now," she had said. 

"Good," her mom replied. Then, she slapped Linda so hard that her tiny 2nd grade self was thrown out of the chair she had been sitting on. 

While she was down, her mother had stood up and kicked Linda in the stomach with her slightly pointed heels. 

"I did that because I love you," she told Linda briskly, and walked away. 

Linda waited until her parents' bedroom door slammed shut before she ran to her own bedroom and sobbed herself to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

As time went on, Linda learned that her mother had been right. Her dad was always the nicest guy anyone could know, everyone at the hospital loved him. He would come home every day with a bright smile on his face, and would hug Linda tightly while saying "I missed you, my little goddess!" 

At night, usually on Wednesdays or Saturdays, Linda would be able to hear her mom's screaming all the way from her bedroom. It took a little while, but soon Linda learned that her mom was screaming because her dad loved her. She fell asleep listening to those screams as if they were the music that she used to play on her record player to drown out the noise. 

When Linda was 12, her dad showed her the room that she had never been allowed to enter. This was the room that she would hear her mom screaming in, the room where her father expressed his true love. 

"You're old enough now to see what this place looks like," her dad said. "When you grow up, I expect you to have a room just like this," 

The room was a huge, windowless area with black and white tile floors and a beautiful chandelier on the ceiling. Shelves were all around, and decorated with several different objects. There was a shelf dedicated to knives, another to whips, and another to ropes and gags. There were two bright red couches at the back wall, looking expensive and super comfortable. A chain was attached to the left wall, and it had a velvet leather collar at the end. 

"Wow," Linda breathed. She turned to her father. "I want a room exactly like this when I grow up. My true love will be so grateful!" 

Her dad smiled brightly with a nod. "That he will," 

Linda stayed in that room for hours, inspecting every inch. She felt like Cinderella when she had gotten her carriage and dress and slippers. It was this room that she spent most of her time in after that first day. 

When she was 15, she got her first boyfriend. His name was Joseph, and Linda thought that he was the one. She asked her dad if she could bring him to what she had dubbed their "special room", and it hadn't gone well. Her dad screamed in her face, and dragged her by the hair into the the room she had hoped to bring Joseph into. He put the collar that was connected to the chain on the wall around her neck, and had wrapped a blindfold around her eyes as well as a gag around her mouth. 

"This room is sacred! Only your true love is permitted! He has to be the one!" Her father shouted. 

He left her there for a day, a whole 24 hours. No food or water, no bathroom breaks, he didn't even come visit her. She cried the entire time. She missed school that day. When she was freed, her dad had asked if she had learned her lesson. She had replied with a shaky "Yes, Daddy," and he hugged her tight.

"I love you, my little goddess," he mumbled. 

"I love you too," she replied honestly. 

After all, you show your love through pain. And if they love you back, they let you hurt them. It was just the way things worked around here. 

Linda and Joseph split up after going to the movies on their third date. The movie was about a man abusing his wife, and going to jail. Linda didn't understand it. 

"He loved her. That's why he hurt her," Linda told Joseph as he walked her back to her house. 

"You're not serious!" Joseph replied in shock. 

"That's how you show true love. You hurt them. If they love you back, they let you hurt them," Linda said with furrowed eyebrows. 

Joseph had nodded slowly at Linda's words, and Linda thought he understood. They walked the rest of the way in silence, and Joseph nearly ran off the property after she gave him a goodbye kiss with a small bite on his bottom lip. He didn't come back. 

Linda cried for a week. Her dad was right, Joseph wasn't the one. She was glad that she hadn't shown him their special room, he wasn't worthy enough. Linda didn't have another boyfriend until she graduated high school. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

As a graduation present, her parents bought Linda her own house, almost as big as their own. It was just on the outskirts of Central City. She nearly hugged her parents to death when she saw that it had a special room as well. She knew better now than to take whoever her boyfriend was at the moment into the special room. With her very own room, she'd have to be extra careful with who she decided to give her heart to. 

Linda's parents were killed in a car crash when she was 19. She was left with all of their money, as well as their belongings. She took everything from her parents' special room and filled her own with said objects. Two weeks after that, her parents' old house was sold to another family, the special room already stripped bare with no evidence that it had ever been "special" in the first place. 

Linda was quite lonely before she started working at Picture News. She didn't have much in common with any of the girls at her college, and all the boys thought she was weird. Linda didn't understand it, but people always looked at her neck strangely. Since her parents had died, Linda had started wearing the leather collar that had been in the special room at her parents' house. She never took it off. 

When Linda started working at Picture News, Mason Bridge recommended that she didn't wear her collar anymore. He said it would scare the viewers, as well as her coworkers. Mason had been straight forward with her, unlike anybody else. Not since her parents had died had anyone been confident enough to even utter two words to Linda, much less critique her fashion choices. Linda liked that about Mason Bridge. He was strong and confident, but Linda knew better than to pounce on the first person of the opposite gender that spoke to her. Mason Bridge definitely wasn't the one. 

Mason had been right about the collar thing, spot on actually. After she had ditched it (put it in her special room), coworkers and old college "buddies" alike began trying to befriend her. They all wanted to know what was in the head of the cute and smart reporter in the sports department. Linda knew how to act now, she knew not to make any comments about what others called "abuse". She knew what other people liked to talk about, and she was very mindful about her fashion choices. 

One night, after work, one girl named Dianne from work invited her to hang out at some karaoke bar. Linda had been skeptical at first, but she soon agreed because, really, what else did she have going on? It was the best decision of her life. She loved it there! No one judged anyone else for singing horribly, there were no bar fights, and everyone seemed to just be so happy. She specifically liked the bartender, Stevie, because he always gave his undivided attention to her. In fact, he seemed to only ever pay attention to Linda, and she would often have to remind him that he had other customers. But he wasn't the one, that much was sure. 

It wasn't until almost a year after she had started going to the bar that she saw him. He was tall, had beautiful green eyes and great hair, and he could sing. His name was Barry. 

"Hey, Stevie, would you mind closing up my friend's tab here?" She asked smoothly after a burst of confidence had convinced her to walk over to a struggling Barry from her own table. 

"Sure thing, Linda," Stevie replied. 

As Barry thanked her and they started up a conversation easily, Linda knew. He was the one. He had to be the one. There was no doubt about it, Barry would be who she brought into her special room.


End file.
